The DLSU Green Spikers ignited their first win streak in the UAAP Season 88 Men’s Volleyball Tournament after overwhelming the AdU Soaring Falcons in four sets, 25-21, 25-20, 21-25, 25-20, earlier today, March 11, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
NJ Bangit took home the Player of the Game honors after notching 33 excellent sets in the match, while Issa Ousseini and Eugene Gloria also boosted the offense with 21 and 18 points, respectively.
On the other side of the net, Joel Menor and Maruel Tan aided the Falcons with 18 and 16 points apiece.
The hunt begins
Aiming to climb out of a 1-4 win-loss slate, both squads took to the court with quiet aggressiveness. Adamson struck first, carving out a 6-4 lead as DLSU grappled with shaky passing and delayed blocks. This proved short-lived, however, as the Green-and-White began settling into their system. Chris Hernandez ignited the response, piercing through a double block to trim the gap to one, 6-5. Adamant to immediately take over, La Salle leaned on its full front line, setting up Paolo Layug who capitalized with back-to-back hits to Zone Five to level the score at 8-all.
The switch-up came when Hernandez dropped an ace that nudged DLSU ahead the one-point advantage, disrupting the early momentum of the Soaring Falcons who consequently tallied multiple attack errors that widened La Salle’s lead, 13-10. Despite AdU’s net defense proving to be a good second resort, their out-of-system possessions repeatedly handed the Taft-based squad easy points.
Seeking to halt the slide, Jims Ducusin slipped an attack off the blockers’ hands to keep his team within two, 16-14. The Green Spikers, however, were only beginning to vary their attacks, turning to reliable options in Rui Ventura and Gloria. The pair responded with an off-the-block hit and a kill into the open Zone Six, preserving a precarious yet steady cushion at 20-18.
Menor’s back-to-back points from the back row and the left wing could have well been Adamson’s saving grace. However, the San Marcelino squad could only watch as DLSU brushed aside broken plays and denials at the net. The set closed with Gloria’s back-row drop ball followed by an ace from Ousseini, sealing the frame for DLSU, 25-21.
No let-up
With AdU still unable to resolve their first set struggles, La Salle raced to an early 7-1 advantage behind a 6-0 run; the former threatened to claw their way back, relying on their blocking and Tan’s down-the-line conversion to trim the deficit to three, 10-7. However, the Green Spikers had begun to surrender small openings of their own, first hitting the antenna, then committing a four-touch error. Hernandez quickly steadied the side, responding with an off-the-block hit to preserve DLSU’s 13-9 lead.
With DLSU’s tightened guard at the net, the Soaring Falcons managed to steer their attacks over the blockers and toward the frequently exposed backcourt. Nonetheless, these scattered surges could not just cut it for the San Marcelino squad, whose progress was repeatedly undone by the same errors that plagued them in the opening frame.
On the other end, the Green-and-White were experimenting with a refreshed game plan and rotation. Gloria mixed in a drop shot, while MJ Fortuna made an immediate impact off the bench, driving a strong attack through the blockers, 19-13.
Adamson mounted one final push, with Tan leading the effort at the net to save two set points. In the end, the Green Spikers’ composure held firm, as Ventura sealed the frame with a down-the-line strike, 25-20.
Unforced mishaps
After a dominant outing in the first two sets, the Green Spikers looked to put in the dagger into the Falcons’ hearts as Fortuna opened up the set with a straight spike down the middle. Layug joined the fray with his own hit that was surfeit for the reception to handle. AdU would be overwhelmed, but with the breaks of the game, unforced errors allowed them to close the gap early on in the set.
It was a back-and-forth tug until the midway point where the tables flipped toward AdU’s favor. Although Gloria closed gaps with his signature cross-court hits and powerful strikes that pierce the defender, errors knocked La Salle down to the ground. No matter how many points they produced, errors took it away—from net and line errors to service faults—DLSU fell with the biggest deficit of the set 14-10.
As the set neared the closing stretches, a reinvigorated duo of Ousseini and Gloria overwhelmed the AdU defense. Even with three blue shirts on the net, Ousseini crashed the defense with powerful, straight spikes, while Gloria evaded the defense with spikes down the middle that were too much for the reception to handle. The Lasallians came within striking distance as the lead narrowed to one, 20-19. However, the Green-and-White would mark their 10th error of the match with a service error. Two straight ball outs led to an eventual 25-21 overrun, prompting La Salle to head back to the drawing board.
Recalibrated aim
Setback by a thorn of errors on their side, DLSU looked to recalibrate on their end and seal the deal. Layug immediately jumps in for the tap to open up the set. The odds were in their favor as AdU would be plagued by their own errors, driving La Salle further. Ousseini kicked into another gear as he sparked his very own 3-0 scoring run early on, as La Salle took a quick five point lead 9-4.
The Green Spikers continued their domination and never let up: Ventura joined the fray, leaping distances to notch in long range spikes, whilst the Green-and-white utilized misdirection plays to fake out the blockers leaving spikers such as Hernandez and Ousseini open. Even though AdU was bolstered by their leading scorer Menor, DLSU was too much to overcome, establishing a dominant 17-11 lead, with all the momentum on their side.
As La Salle pushed the Falcons against the wall, errors and misses put an arrow straight through AdU’s heart. Hernandez and Gloria continued to put up devastating cross court hits that were too much to handle. Whilst Menor attempted to mount an offensive comeback, Layug struck the dagger with a service ace to notch match point, eventually ending with Gloria to close the match with a final spike down the middle to finish with a victory, 25-20.
Despite the rough start to the season, the Green-and-white remain ever the more faithful toward their final four aspirations. They gained a newfound resolve with two straight wins. Bangit acknowledges their team’s recent performance and how they look forward to changing their direction: “Four losses is not how you want to start the season… but, for sure, we’ve been gaining our rhythm in these last two games.”
Now fueled by momentum, Bangit established that they have shown what they can do as a team. “[This] is [going to] give us the momentum we need going into the NU fight,” Bangit stated, pertaining to the DLSU Green Spikers aiming to extend the streak by defeating the defending champions NU Bulldogs on Sunday, March 15, at the same venue.
The Scores:
DLSU 3 – Ousseini 21, Gloria 18, Ventura 12, Hernandez 10, Layug 10, Fortuna 3, Mendoza 1, Bangit 0, Flores 0, Regidor 0, Retiro 0, Magallanes 0, Magalaman 0, Rodriguez, 0 R. Flores 0, Thomas 0
AdU 1 – Menor 18, Tan 16, Tahiluddin 6, Besorio 5, Garces 5, Coguimbal 5, Ducusin 2, Gay 1, Ornos 1, Cuadra 0, Domingo 0, Costelo 0, Flestado 0, Gutierrez 0, Pon An 0, Obeda 0
Set Scores: 25-21, 25-20, 21-25, 25-20
